Show-Pah
Schopá is used to describe how an athlete looks while warming up, playing a sport, or waiting on the sidelines to sub in for another
player. It can be applied to all sports—please see below for just a few examples.
The word’s exact origins are unknown; however, there are different things a
player can do to increase his or her schopá.
For example, it is widely accepted that a hockey or lacrosse
player’s Schopá is increased if he has long hair flow coming out the sides and back of his helmet. Likewise, a hockey
player’s schopá is increased if he / she has a loose fitting facemask implying that they will not get hit and therefore does not need protection.
Conversely, a hockey
player with a strange tape-job on his / her stick lowers his / her schopá as would a
player's bending at the ankles while wearing skates bender.
A
player's preference comes into play when considering whether or not to tuck one’s mouth-guard into the top of their lacrosse helmet while on the sideline, wearing his / her socks on the outside of his / her hockey skates, or tucking one’s jersey into his / her hockey pants.
Some believe that the ultimate schopá is obtained from wearing the number 99 or 23 due to the association of those numbers with Wayne Gretzky and Michael
Jordan.